what mileage point is an Engine fully broken in

[jrustles]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude

as someone who rebuilds many engines for a living during break in drive it normally and after 200 or so miles wide open throttles from 30-60 from time to time is very good for the rings.. I go to many seminars from the engine manufactures and they all say they run the new engines very hard before the public ever sees them

Across over 40 years of various cars I have proved to myself that a hard break in improves power, reduces oil consumption, etc. There's nothing to gain by being easy on it, just get into a higher gear and GET ON IT!

I agree with this! In my experience it's more of a function of cylinder pressures/hone abradability? with regard to engine break in. It's possible to achieve sub optimal sealing if babied for too long before the hone glazes over. With that said, full break in could take anywhere between 300 and 20,000miles.

 

[Nick R]

Jeez. When we bought our expedtiion years ago the day we picked it up from the dealer we drove 500 miles all highway to ohio and then another 500 back- all with cruise control. that engine was fine. My focus has 1,000 miles, pretty much all highway with cruise. My Mazda had 14,400, 95% of which were highway miles. It's fine. You don't need to time it down to the mile. Just get on the highway and set the cruise control. Stop overthinking it.

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: justinf89

Omg, just don't take it to the track and you'll be fine.

lol

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: Nick R

Jeez. When we bought our expedtiion years ago the day we picked it up from the dealer we drove 500 miles all highway to ohio and then another 500 back- all with cruise control. that engine was fine. My focus has 1,000 miles, pretty much all highway with cruise. My Mazda had 14,400, 95% of which were highway miles. It's fine. You don't need to time it down to the mile. Just get on the highway and set the cruise control. Stop overthinking it.

cello thanks for the info

 

[punisher]

OEMs pretty much have cylinder wall finishes figured out. Those fancy CNC hones lay on a darned near perfect plateau cylinder bore finish every time...... and a laser verifies that. Rings....pretty much figured out as well. Engines are fired on natural gas first to test for problems, then are chassis dynoed to verify output. Cars are driven around the plant, driven onto transports, driven off transports, techs drive them for the MPDI, then the makeready department drives them as well. Agree with above, don't overthink it. I can see maybe some engines need an actual "break-in". Some old OEM rebuild with plain iron rings, or maybe a chrome ring equipped engine with a really aggressive cylinderwall finish, but otherwise, don't worry, be happy.

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: Nick R

Jeez. When we bought our expedtiion years ago the day we picked it up from the dealer we drove 500 miles all highway to ohio and then another 500 back- all with cruise control. that engine was fine. My focus has 1,000 miles, pretty much all highway with cruise. My Mazda had 14,400, 95% of which were highway miles. It's fine. You don't need to time it down to the mile. Just get on the highway and set the cruise control. Stop overthinking it.

thanks for the info

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: punisher

OEMs pretty much have cylinder wall finishes figured out. Those fancy CNC hones lay on a darned near perfect plateau cylinder bore finish every time...... and a laser verifies that. Rings....pretty much figured out as well. Engines are fired on natural gas first to test for problems, then are chassis dynoed to verify output. Cars are driven around the plant, driven onto transports, driven off transports, techs drive them for the MPDI, then the makeready department drives them as well. Agree with above, don't overthink it. I can see maybe some engines need an actual "break-in". Some old OEM rebuild with plain iron rings, or maybe a chrome ring equipped engine with a really aggressive cylinderwall finish, but otherwise, don't worry, be happy.

thanks did not know that good to know

 

[surfstar]

You'll be fine as long as you properly bed the brakes in. You did that, right? Don't ask, I'm just kidding.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: punisher

OEMs pretty much have cylinder wall finishes figured out. Those fancy CNC hones lay on a darned near perfect plateau cylinder bore finish every time...... and a laser verifies that. Rings....pretty much figured out as well. Engines are fired on natural gas first to test for problems, then are chassis dynoed to verify output. Cars are driven around the plant, driven onto transports, driven off transports, techs drive them for the MPDI, then the makeready department drives them as well. Agree with above, don't overthink it. I can see maybe some engines need an actual "break-in". Some old OEM rebuild with plain iron rings, or maybe a chrome ring equipped engine with a really aggressive cylinderwall finish, but otherwise, don't worry, be happy.

Forget that dyno, very few cars are dyno'd prior to delivery!

 

[Clevy]

Google motoman and his break in procedure. The guy builds and races. He makes very good points for a hard break in although you are beyond the mileage where it matters the info is still interesting

 

[Vikas]

Tell me how many hundred thousands of miles he has on his race engines before he rebuilds them. Then explain why I should use his advice on break in procedure on my car which I am racing. Mind you, I am not saying his advice is wrong but telling me that he builds and races does not help your argument.

 

[SteveSRT8]

The facts are there and the engines work the same as yours. They last longer, period. Try extrapolating a bit from there. They make more power. Their pistons and ring packs are cleaner. They use less oil. So you're not racing motorcycles, you're still using a reciprocating 4 stroke motor that gets the exact same benefits from a hard break in. I have a 3rd gen machinist that agrees, and the simple fact is you won't be breaking yours in this way anyway, so why knock it. My factory manual says "Full throttle is beneficial to engine break in". Many manufacturers use the track for advanced durability testing. RACING! It has credibility even if you deny it. The only thing you should baby in a new car is the driveline. All that means is avoid lower gears. Otherwise get onit and often for longest life and best power.

 

[Vikas]

I am agreeing with you Steve regarding doing full throttle application for engine break in. What I am taking issue is this:- 1) Race car builder is not worried about long term viability of his engine 2) He wants to extract every single horse power out of it during the race and could care less what happens after the race is finished 3) As long as he does not run out of oil during the race, he is not worried about oil consumption. He obviously checks it before the start of the race. 4) He probably rebuilds his engines every few thousand miles just because he wants to He happens to give the correct advice and certainly he is qualified as a successful engine builder but his requirements and my requirements are not the same. Now on the other hand, when you say that this is how I break the new engine in and my engines last 300K miles and do not use oil etc; I consider your testimonial to be more relevant to me than that engine builder's. I hope that clarifies what I was trying to say.

 

[Tboss]

Originally Posted By: surfstar

You'll be fine as long as you properly bed the brakes in. You did that, right? Don't ask, I'm just kidding.

yes i did lol

 

[Mr Nice]

200K mikes for a Honda

 

[jdawg89]

Shoulda burned rubber outta the lot and wfo the whole way home

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Vikas

I am agreeing with you Steve regarding doing full throttle application for engine break in. What I am taking issue is this:- 1) Race car builder is not worried about long term viability of his engine 2) He wants to extract every single horse power out of it during the race and could care less what happens after the race is finished 3) As long as he does not run out of oil during the race, he is not worried about oil consumption. He obviously checks it before the start of the race. 4) He probably rebuilds his engines every few thousand miles just because he wants to He happens to give the correct advice and certainly he is qualified as a successful engine builder but his requirements and my requirements are not the same. Now on the other hand, when you say that this is how I break the new engine in and my engines last 300K miles and do not use oil etc; I consider your testimonial to be more relevant to me than that engine builder's. I hope that clarifies what I was trying to say.

Thank you for your explanation. It really does help. And I can indeed tell you that the engines in my stable broken in in exactly that fashion do last longer, make more power and burn no oil at all. I have a Silverado 5.3 that is the quietest motor I have ever owned, mechanically silent. Well over 100k hard miles and was whipped from day one. Running sweet and uses zero oil, even on 20w. My 6.1 Chrysler is a known oil burner, everyone says that is 'normal' for a big high powered engine. Well mine never uses a drop, even at all day track events. And when you plug my ET and trap speed into a drag racing calculator with the weight you'll get substantially more HP than it is rated for. It is happy as heck and I plan on keeping it till 300k miles easy. I have more examples, but you see my point. It really is an excellent break in strategy. Just avoid the first two gears or so and warm up fully first.

 

[KrisZ]

This is definitely an interesting topic. I've broken in my mazda 3 as normal driving. I just drove it normally, but for the first 1500-2000 miles I did not do any WOT runs, just took it to 3-4k RPM on an occasion and changed the factory fill at 5k miles. The car has a bit over 100k on it and there is no oil consumption with either 5w20 or 5w30 oil. But I did promise myself that my next brand new car (if I ever buy brand new again) will be broken in as described by steve.